For one, Angels fans should be thankful the Baltimore Orioles and Buck Showalter won't be in the AL West next season. Sure, the Los Angeles Rams and Baltimore Colts used to be in the same NFL division, but that was long, long ago.

The weakened weekend of slumber by the Angels offense against Orioles pitching forced me to think about the other out-of-it team in Southern California, and wonder if who gets Manny really will be part of the McCourt divorce proceedings that commence Monday.

Ramirez, who has been claimed on waivers by the Chicago White Sox, was not deemed good enough by Manager Joe Torre to start any of the three Dodgers games in Denver.

Ramirez, right, got ejected after arguing a called strike as a pinch-hitter Sunday, which might be his last act in blue. Not a third strike, but the first pitch he saw.

According to ESPN's Jayson Stark and many others, the White Sox won in their waiver claim of Dodgers' outfielder Manny Ramirez. The White Sox, currently second in the American League Central, beat out the Texas Rangers and the Tampa Bay Rays, according to numerous reports.

The Dodgers now have until Tuesday to trade him to Chicago or pull him back.

With the Dodgers getting hot all of sudden, it's going to be a tough choice on what to do. The Dodgers are in fifth place in the Wild Card standings and are 5.0 games back.

I don't care how the Dodgers use Hall of Fame-bound slugger Jim Thome, if he wins them just one game, and then is on their roster if they reach the World Series so he can DH in the AL park, it will be well worth it.

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I seem to recall Eddie Murray getting a big September hit for the Dodgers late in his career, and Dave Parker -- yes, the post-Angels Dave Parker -- doing so for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Unless Class-A infielder Justin Fuller turns out to be the next Jeff Bagwell, which apparently unlikely, it's win-win for the Dodgers and Thome, who will also boost Manny Ramirez's spirits.

In regards to Fuller, a Class-A utility infielder at age 26, I was once told Mark Sweeney was a non-prospect in the Angels organization. Sweeney only spent 14 years in the big leagues, mostly as a pinch-hitter and extra man, but in the bigs.

As many as eight players, and possibly more, on the list did not test positive for anything. And some of the positive findings have been challenged by the union.

The list is under a court seal, but the names of Sammy Sosa, David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez have been leaked illegally by an unnamed source -- with virtually everyone assuming the mere presence of their names on the list constituted guilt.

Dodgers outfielder Xavier Paul remained in an area hospital on Friday with an infection in his left knee.

The infection was discovered on Tuesday but flared up the following day, making the trip to the hospital necessary.

"Xavier had a previous infection that was classified as MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) which is a type of staph infection that is resistant to a lot of the antibiotics," said Stan Conte, the Dodgers' director of medical services. "So it's difficult to treat."

Paul scraped his knee while making a sliding play in Sunday's game in Florida. He noticed some swelling around the cut by Monday and it continued to get worse.

"He's in the hospital right now but he's going to be fine," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. "Everything points to starting the recovery but it's going to be awhile before he plays baseball because from what I was told, the only protection against something like this is to make sure the skin is healed over and it's going to take some time."

Blake, 35, sought a three-year deal but only got a two-year offer plus an option from the Minnesota Twins. The length of the deal might be a risk considering his age, but the Dodgers are sold on Blake's intangibles, including character.

That counts, and so does having at least one veteran in a young lineup, with Jeff Kent and Nomar Garciaparra departed.

The man came to Los Angeles last summer, the subject of considerable scorn over the manner of his parting with the Boston Red Sox, who won two World Series with him that they would not have won without him.

Manny Ramirez then waved his magic bat for two months and not only captivated the imaginations of Dodgers fans, he propelled their team into the playoffs.

The Summer of 99 -- he batted .396 with 53 RBis in 53 games -- left the Blue faithful demanding more as Ramirez entered free agency. The Dodgers made an offer that seemed to cover the going rate of compensation, if not the desired term. Then they withdrew the offer but stated they had not cooled their interest.

Many have weighed in on the merits of Manny Being Manny in Los Angeles or even in Anaheim. The positives are there in the cold hard numbers he produced last season, not just in Dodgers uniform, but also before he left the Red Sox.

He totaled 37 home runs and 121 RBIs with a .332 average, .430 on-base average and slugged .601. Those numbers compare favorably with his career averages in those categories: 41, 133, .314, .411, .593.